The Big Sleep Survey 2010

The Thoracic and Sleep Group Queensland (TSGQ) is very pleased to support The Big Sleep Survey.

The Big Sleep Survey 2010 is a Citizen Science & Research Project undertaken by ABC Science in conjunction with CIRUS, the NHMRC Centre for Sleep and the Woolcock Institute, University of Sydney. The research is being conducted by Professor Ron Grunstein, Associate Professor Delwyn Bartlett, Dr. Nathaniel Marshall, Dr. Shaun Williams and Ms Angela Denotti

It’s a real research project that has been approved by the Sydney University ethics committee. All aspects of the survey, including results, will be strictly confidential and only the investigators will have access to information, except as required by law. A report of the survey may be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

What it involves

1.  Sign up - To take part in this scientific research project you need to sign up with your login details.  Once you've done this you can begin the Quesionnaire.

2. The Questionnaire - This should take about 10 minutes and you can save and return if you need to. You'll answer questions about a whole range of things, from your health; to what you do in the bedroom; to whether you've ever sleepwalked. At the end of the Questionnaire you'll get a report summarising your sleep habits, pointing out any potential problem areas and highlighting some of the things you do that might be affecting your sleep - both in a good and bad way!  Once you’ve completed the Questionnaire, you can then sign up to do the optional week long Sleep Diary and enter the Competition.

3. The 7 Day Sleep Diary - This is optional. It should only take about 2 minutes each day for a week to log in and let us know day how much and how well you slept each night.

Note: You have to be over 11 to take part in the Big Sleep Survey. If you're aged between 11 and 18, we'd love you to sign up, but you will need your parent or guardian's approval.

Why do the scientists want to do this?

The Big Sleep Survey 2010 is an excellent way to gather information about the sleep habits of a large number of people. Sleep scientists normally rely on expensive phone based surveys to gather information about our sleep habits. By individuals doing it online, it will reach a much broader group of people.

The Sleep Scientists are interested in a number of things:

•    How our sleep habits have changed, especially in the last ten years since the 1st online survey of Australia’s sleep habits in 2000;

•    Is our use of technology in the bedroom affecting the amount of sleep that we’re getting;

•    How prevalent are parasomnias (sleep walking, sleep talking etc)  in Australia’s population;

•    How many people try to catch up on sleep on the weekend;

•    How many teenagers experience phase shifting, or a desire to stay up late and sleep in the next day.

To make sure it's an unbiased process, the scientists write down how they did their research and why they came to their conclusions, and ask other scientists to take a look at it.  Publication and general public distribution of this information should eventually occur.

Below are soem links to media coverage of The Big Sleep Survey 2010

ABC Radio : Obesity Linked to Sleep Disorders

Doctors at a sleep clinic in Newcastle have analysed 20 years of records and found that their patients are becoming fatter.  The study, which is published in The Medical Journal of Australia, shows a clear link between the patients' obesity and the severity of sleep apnoea.

ABC Catalyst : ‘A Terrible Nights Sleep… A Blog’

The idea behind this story is to show the dangers of sleep restriction or partial sleep loss on the participating journalist.